Chapter 12: The Alloy Coffin
Chapter 12: The Alloy Coffin
When Yu Qing woke up, he found himself surrounded by darkness. He whispered softly, "Yan'er, are you still there?"
There was no response. Reaching out with his hands, he realized he seemed to have been buried in the tunnel, with only a small gap on one side.
His first thought was: The humanoid beauties have abandoned me here. They've run away. Their loyalty was merely an output of emotional algorithms, and now they've calculated this output isn't worth it anymore.
He regretted being so gullible.
He tried to crawl out of the tunnel, only to find a large rock blocking the exit.
The tunnel was poorly ventilated, remaining stuffy even in the morning. He desperately tried to remove the soil around the large rock to improve airflow with the outside world.
The sky outside was fully bright now. He heard what sounded like fighting noises from above the pit.
"Our respects." This was Daji's voice, followed by a wolf-like howl of agony.
"Our respects." This was Yan'er's voice, followed by another wolf-like howl of agony.
"Our respects." This was Furong's voice, followed by yet another wolf-like howl of agony.
Yu Qing secretly lamented in his heart: "It's over, the three of them are fighting each other."
They were all quite tenacious - after more than half an hour, it seemed none had truly fallen.
But why did they start quarreling, only to end up burying me?
Was it that one or two of them wanted to bury me, while the remaining one firmly objected…
As he was lost in these wild thoughts, Daji's smiling face peeked around the stone, saying:
"Darling, it's alright now—I'll move this stone away!"
Yu Qing asked with a trembling voice: "You… killed them all?"
Daji paused in surprise, then laughed: "Killed them all."
"You shouldn't have done this…"
At that moment, Yan'er's face also appeared, smiling as she asked: "Sweetheart, who did we kill?"
Furong leaned over and added: "We were just killing wolves all night…"
Suddenly realizing his grave misunderstanding, Yu Qing replied with both embarrassment and excitement:
"Quick, move the stone—let me see if they're the same wolves that saved me earlier."
While helping Daji lift the stone, Yan'er asked:
"Are you saying these wolves saved you? That's impossible—they most likely came last night smelling your meat."
"I mean they objectively saved me, but subjectively they absolutely wanted to tear me to shreds!"
Yu Qing stepped out of the tunnel and saw the ground littered with corpses of the same large wolves he'd encountered that day, estimating there were about one or two hundred.
They must have also been fleeing the mountain fire and happened to run into them.
Just as Yu Qing was about to praise the women, he noticed their clothes were torn to ribbons, their faces smeared with blood or something black, and couldn't help but laugh:
"Where did these three beggars come from…"
Daji only then realized her tattered state and stamped her foot in frustration:
"Oh no! We've violated the Decency Code!"
Furong's face paled at once.
But Yan'er said calmly, "Have you forgotten? In front of our own treasures, even being stark naked doesn't count as indecent!"
Yu Qing also said: "No problem, no problem! To hell with behavioral appropriateness—I love how innocent and carefree you all are now!
But, I want to ask, from which direction did those wolves come last night?"
"They chased us from behind."
"This means the wolves were also heading in the same direction we were going.
In that case, I think we might have taken the wrong path and direction."
"Hmm? Darling, how do you figure? What's the reasoning behind that?"
"The logic is simple—though these big wolves were also fleeing the mountain fire, they definitely wouldn't run toward town. Instead, they'd head for other forests with food sources, right?"
"Right, right, right! That direction might even be their den. We're not afraid of them, but the little one would be in danger."
"Too bad I lost my yao-particle gun at that hotel—otherwise, I'd show them who's boss."
"Even with a particle gun, it'd be risky. There's no holding them back when they come in overwhelming numbers!"
"Don't mention being full—I almost forgot! Can you guys help me roast a wolf to eat?"
Daji and the others exchanged glances, as this area had already been burned by fire, leaving nothing combustible to be found.
Yan'er blurted out: "Eat it raw!"
Daji and Furong also looked at him and nodded.
Yu Qing waved his hand and said: "Forget it, forget it. Let's first discuss which direction we should head next.
In my opinion, we shouldn't worry about where Mount Weng or Mount Guan is—just follow any path we find. If we keep going along the road, we're bound to come across a town.
Once we reach any town, we can figure out our location. At worst, we'll just take a longer detour.
But if we wander into desolate wilderness and encounter some monster, that could be deadly.
My father once told me that after the year 2B00, some humans went mad and fabricated many monsters."
"Exactly. Those giant wolves might just be the appetizer.
My data also mentions a resurrected dinosaur weighing several hundred tons.
And a twelve-hundred-something whale…"
Daji hurriedly interrupted: "Enough digressing! If we don't leave now, it'll get hot again!"
Yan'er argued, "Won't it still be hot halfway through our journey?"
Furong said timidly, "I have an idea, but I'm not sure if it'll work?"
Yuqing asked, "Sweetheart, let's hear it."
"If we skin some wolves and use partially burnt sticks as poles to make a big umbrella, could that block the sun?"
"Brilliant idea! Come here, let me give you a kiss as reward!"
Soon enough, a square canopy made from four large wolf pelts was erected.
However, they still needed someone to hold the umbrella.
Daji and Yan'er believed since it was Furong's idea, she should be the one to hold both poles with her hands.
If they didn't set out soon, they'd be late again. Just before departure, Yuqing couldn't resist cutting some raw wolf meat with his dagger to eat.
During daytime with clear visibility, standing at high ground Daji could faintly see a dust-covered Class C road about ten li away in the direction they came from.
Yuqing said, "Let's follow that road until dark, what do you say?"
Yan'er laughed and said, "Darling, 'walking one path until it turns dark' seems like a saying criticizing someone for being stubborn."
"Successful people often disregard gains and losses from the very beginning.
You all are too calculating, often ending up achieving nothing in the end.
Do you know why?"
"It doesn't make logical sense," Yan'er defended.
"Success sometimes has nothing to do with logic—it's an accidental shift in circumstances."
"Darling, should we discuss this clearly here before leaving, or should we set off right away?"
"Let's go!"
As Yu Qing took his first step, his shorts got caught on a tree stump and tore.
Walking ahead, he looked at the tattered clothes of those around him and joked:
"I heard there was a gang called the Beggars' Sect three hundred years ago—do we count?"
Daji said, "I don't want to be part of the Beggars' Sect. I want to be an immortal who can fly in the sky."
Yu Qing sighed, "When I left, I actually had a parachute that could fly over the Tianshan Mountains. Too bad I destroyed it—otherwise, we wouldn't be in so much trouble now."
Swallow blurted out, "Victory Sky Company sells this kind of parasail…"
Hibiscus shouted, "Darling, she said those two words—shouldn't she carry the load now? I'll need both hands to hold the parasail later."
Yu Qing patted Swallow's head and said, "No choice—you'll have to carry it."
Daji, annoyed by Yu Qing's slow pace, simply hoisted him onto her back again and kept walking.
It took the four of them about an hour to reach the road.
To their delight, they found they could glide by pushing off the embers scattered along the path.
When they hit a chunk of debris too large to slide over, a few steps forward would let them glide again.
This way, they moved noticeably faster.
By noon, they had been traveling for roughly four hours.
Yet the road still seemed endless.
Daji adjusted Yu Qing on her back and said, "You called it—we're walking this road till nightfall.
But this definitely isn't the way to Urn Mountain. There's a Class-B road about 40 kilometers in that direction."
"Then judging by the map, where are we headed?"
Daji tossed out the holographic map and said, "We've circled back near another section of the First Paradise's perimeter wall."
"You mean we're actually heading toward the First Paradise?"
Lotus said, "Then let's go to the First Paradise. Why bother with the Second Paradise…"
"Nonsense! The First Paradise is deserted! Besides, even if we somehow got out, don't even dream of going back in."
Swallow asked, "Darling, if that's the case, even if we reach the Second Paradise, we won't be able to enter!"
Yu Qing froze for a moment, looking somewhat lost. Still, he absentmindedly replied:
"Even if we can't go in, I can at least peek from outside to see if anyone's still there."
"But those inside won't see you—then what?"
Daji patted Yu Qing's backside and said, "There's always a way when the cart reaches the mountain. We're with you, dear."
But Yu Qing squirmed and said, "Put me down for a second."
"What's wrong, darling?"
"I need to… uh… take care of business…"
As soon as Daji set him down, Yu Qing dashed to a hollow in the ground and squatted.
Yan'er said: "I bet the little one will want to eat again when he comes back."
Furong quickly pulled out a piece of meat, saying: "I cut this from the wolf when we left…"
Daji laughed: "You're quite thoughtful indeed.
Yan'er, let's set up the wolfskin umbrella by the roadside too.
I reckon our dear will want to rest again - fortunately today's sunlight seems much gentler than yesterday's."
When Yuqing returned, he reluctantly ate some raw wolf meat from Furong's hand, suppressing his nausea.
Sitting under the umbrella, he panted heavily, still feeling the heat. After just a short while, he said: "Nevermind resting, let's keep moving!"
Daji continued carrying Yuqing on her back as they traveled, with Yan'er and Furong walking on either side.
He knew this stubborn "follow one path into darkness" approach was somewhat reckless.
But lingering halfway up the mountain would mean certain death, as there was neither water source nor reliable food there.
Since humans had built these roads in ancient times, there must be water and food sources along the way at some point.
Suddenly, a transparent wall hundreds of meters high appeared in the distance.
Sure enough, they had run back to the other side of the First Paradise again!
He tried hard to conceal his disappointment, not letting them notice.
About less than a hundred meters outside that wall, a grove of trees appeared.
The wildfire had burned all the vegetation here, but it finally stopped at that point.
Where there are trees, two bowls of water won't be hard to find.
As for food, wild fruits and insects could serve as temporary sustenance.
Furong and the others also spotted the grove and pointed ahead, exclaiming, "Look over there!"
Daji, however, paused and examined it carefully, saying, "Those are all electric trees—I can even see the glass-like sheen on their leaves!"
Yu Qing, upon hearing this, shouted, "Really? Electricity suggests there might be people there.
At the very least, remnants left by them—we should be able to find something useful, and hopefully even synthetic food."
And so, the party of four hurried forward.
"We'd better find some clothes we can wear too, and find a place to wash up."
Yan'er, carrying her gear, ran the fastest, leaving Yu Qing and the others far behind.
But just as they were approaching the woods, Yan'er suddenly stopped again. She turned back and shouted, "Look!"
Yu Qing and the others hurried over and looked ahead:
In the middle of the woods stood a white rectangular box over ten meters tall, with a humanoid figure standing motionless in front of it!
Daji blurted out, "Damn it, it's just a big white tomb!"
This white tomb was probably an alloy coffin.
Yu Qing's heart skipped a beat: it seemed like they'd come all this way for nothing—there wouldn't be any supplies here.
Everyone stood there, unsure what to do.
Yu Qing got down from Daji's back and said, "Since we're here, let's at least see whose tomb this is."
As they approached the graveyard, Yu Qing and the others involuntarily stopped again.
The humanoid beauty before the tomb was stunningly beautiful, with skin pores so finely detailed that Yu Qing almost mistook her for a completely real person.
Daji and the others were equally mesmerized, as her natural aura gave them an inexplicable sense of oppression.
However, Yu Qing was soon captivated again by the two dozen bold crimson characters inscribed on the tombstone.
The inscription read: "He saw what the Creator wished to keep hidden from mankind, and thus was summoned away too soon."
Curiously, the tombstone bore neither the name of the deceased nor any related information.
The tombs Daji and the others knew were all described in records, entirely different from what they saw here.
Now, being physically present ignited their intellectual curiosity, and they began circling the coffin one by one.
Suddenly, Yan'er shouted, "There's writing on the back!"
Hearing Yan'er's cry, Yu Qing hurried over to investigate.
As he passed by the humanoid beauty, he couldn't help but bow to her respectfully.
Although he knew her loyalty might just be a programmed convention.
He walked around to the back of the coffin—the words Yan'er mentioned turned out to be the tomb owner's biographical summary.
The text was small and placed at the rear of the tomb, suggesting the deceased didn't want to reveal it to passing visitors.
The summary read: "Lu Qizhen, the great microphysicist.
Born in 2B84, died in 2C16.
He discovered what the Creator forbade humanity from knowing.
Virtual particles are the true puppeteers hiding within all things, manipulating their states.
The last person who knew its secret has died, and never again will there be a second."
"Does anyone understand what this means?" Yu Qing asked.
Daji said, "How would we know anything from between 2B84 to 2C16?"
Daji's remark reminded Yu Qing—didn't that earlier human-like beauty know about events between 2B84 and 2C16?
This would be extremely useful for him to learn in detail what exactly happened on Earth during those years.
After all, the data in the time capsule his father left him were only fragments of information.
He intended to find a way to take this humanoid Shrine Maiden away from the tomb.
(End of Chapter)